Exploiting the fixed centre

 The concept of the 'model' game is a common tool in chess education, especially when we self study. Normally the choice of game is some Capablanca/Fischer masterpiece where the opponent makes one minor slip and then gets ruthlessly crushed. My preference is to look at games from a slightly lower level as (a) they are more understandable and (b) the defensive options are much more limited.

A good example is a recent game from the 2024 Canterbury Summer Swiss  involving FM Michael Kethro. Facing a Stonewall setup, Kethro did all the right things in (a) taking control of e5 (b) fixing the centre and (c) breaking through on the queenside. If you look at the game through the eyes on an engine, White is always better, but without an engine, it is an instructive lesson in how to break down an opponents defensive setup.

 

Kethro,Michael (2115) - Arthur,James (1816) [D30]
2024 Canterbury Summer Swiss Melbourne, Australia (6.4), 30.12.2024

2024 World Rapid and Blitz - Day 3

 After all the drama on Day 2, there was still a chess tournament to run on Day 3. Players turned up, played another 4 games and Volodar Murzin won the Open, with Humpy Koneru winning the Women's. Once people got back to watching the chess, there were a number of exciting games on the third day, including a wild last round game been Neimann and Nakamura (which was won by Neimann). Tomorrow is a rest day, with the Blitz starting on the 30th (New York time). In a change from last year, there will be a thirteen round blitz on day 1, with the top 8 players qualifying for a KO final on day 2.

 

A dedicated follower of fashion

 The 2024 World Rapid and Blitz has gone somewhat sideways, with yop seed Magnus Carlsen withdrawing from the current Rapid event, and the upcoming Blitz event. The issue was a breach of the dress code, with Carlsen being find for wearing jeans, and then be unpaired when he refused to change them before his next round. After his offer to change them at the end of the day was refused, he decided to withdraw from both events. Carlsen was not the first player to breach the dress rules at this years event, but in this case was the only one to refuse to change his attire when requested.

Online opinion on the decision to fine Carlsen, and Carlsen's subsequent withdrawal is somewhat mixed. There are those who think the rules are silly (or an exception should be made for Carlsen), while there are others who point out that he was aware of the rules in advance (or that he was doing badly enough in the event to find an escape hatch). Personally* I am not a fan of strict rules like this, but if you have them, then they should be enforced. 

As for the over the board action, four players share the lead after 9 rounds.  Volodar Murzin, Jan-Krzystof Duda, Arjun Erigaisi, and Alexander Grischuk are all on 7/9 with 4 rounds to play. In the Women's event, Wenjun Ju, Harika Dronavalli and Humpy Koneru all lead on 6.5/8.

*I have both been DQ'd from an official FIDE event for breaching a regulation (2004 Chess Olympiad) and been part of enforcing tournament regulations at official FIDE events (I was an arbiter at the 2023 World Rapid and Blitz)

2024 World Rapid and Blitz

 The 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Championship has begun in New York. Once again it has attracted most of the worlds best players, noting that more American players are taking part this year (due to the venue) but less FIDE players (also due to the venue). 

It looks like the first day provided plenty of content for the online commentators, with a number of significant upsets. The most newsworthy result is Magnus Carlsen sitting on 50% after the first 5 rounds, but at this stage, everyone has dropped at least half a point. However, with only 8 rounds left to play (4 on each of the next 2 days) it may be difficult for Carlsen to catch up, as he has 70 players in front of him,

Two Australian players are taking part this year, IM Rishi Sardana and FM Kai Jie Soo. Sardana is on a 2/5 (beating GM Sergey Erenburg in round 5), and Soo is on 1/5.

The games start around 6am Canberra time, so you can catch the action if you are awake early enough. The games are scheduled 80 mins apart, so even if you miss the first one, you should be able to catch the rest. https://worldrapidandblitz2024.fide.com/

Anachronism

 A subset of literature that I occasionally dip my toe into is "Sherlock Holmes" 'extended' fiction. This is essentially where the character of Sherlock Holmes is inserted into another setting, as a kind of writers device to tie a story about a different topic together. 

In chess the most famous example is "The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes" by Raymond Smullyan. This is in fact a book about retrograde analysis in chess, but presented as using Holmes as a way to make it more readable. 

I found a similar book set in the world of Contract Bridge, "Sherlock Holmes, Bridge Detective". Again it is a series of problems, woven together by a narrative involving the fictional detective (and Dr Watson), as participants in a challenge match. In this case, all well and good, except for the fact that the suggested date of Holmes' passing was March 1927, and Contract bridge (as used in the book) did not become established until 1929.

Nit-picking for sure, but also the sign of laziness on the part of the author,

Translate

 While travelling through Europe I decided to pick up a few of the local chess magazines. Unlike Australia, these were often on sale at the local newsagent, so grabbing a copy of  Schach Magazine, or Rochade was pretty easy. The drawback of course was that by knowledge of German was good enough to catch a train, but not enough to read the magazine.

But this is where google Translate came in handy. Previously I had just used it to find the meaning of a word or street sign, but it of course can translate whole slabs of text. By pointing my camera at the page, Translate was able to show me the English text, in real time. Of course chess is a pretty universal language, but it was still nice to read about the details of an event, rather than just the moves.

The extra benefit of this is that it gives a portion of my chess book collection a whole new use. Previously I had picked up foreign language chess books quite sparingly, but know I hope to increase my numbers, and then read them like any other book I had.

2024 ACT Rapidplay Championship - Press and Kethro tie for 1st

 The 2024 ACT Rapidplay Championship ended in a tie for 1st between Harry Press and FM Michael Kethro. The 7 round event attracted a big field of 58 players, with the Big 3 of Street Chess (Press, Kethro and FM Fred Litchfield) all taking part. Press started with 4/4 before drawing with Kethro (on 3.5) in round 5. Round 7 saw Press draw with the always solid CM Hui Li, while Kethro won against Willis Lo, leaving Press and Kethro tied on 6/7. Tied for third on 5.5 were Malik Amer and Thomas Gatzen-O'Keefe. Gatzen-O'Keefe played an extreme for of the swiss gambit, going LDWWWWW in the event.

Olamide Fasakin picked up the Under 1800 prize, while newcomer Ajo Varghese won the Under 1300. Masaki Horikawa won the best junior prize. 

ACT Rapid Championship

 It is very late notice, but the 2024 AVT Rapid Championship is on tomorrow (21 December). It is being held at King O'Malley's, City Walk, Canberra City, starting at 11am. Entry is $10 ($5 for juniors), and is a 7 round swiss with a time limit of G/15m

Plenty of fun and plenty of prizes to be had.

Forace's Legacy

 The end of the Ding v Gukesh World Championship match elicited  a number of comments concerning possible reasons for Ding's error, but trying to simplify when behind on material  isn't unprecedented. In local Canberra circles doing so even has a name. It is known as Forace's Legacy, discovered by, and named after, local player Lee Forace.

It apparently came about during an analysis session many years ago, involving a number of (then) junior players. In a position where one side was behind on material, Lee suggested a move that involved the weaker side swapping off a piece. When the other players looked confused,  Lee asked 'what's wrong?'. The reply came back 'you don't exchange when behind on material'.

Now like most chess rules, there are exceptions, as shown in this years World Championship. Exchanging to reach a fortress, or going into a drawn ending a pawn (or even a piece) down are well known motif's. But these are special cases, and in general keeping pieces on the board is normally preferable when behind. However, I will also suggest that blindly exchanging pieces when you are ahead on material is not always the best strategy either.

I declare a number war

 The 2024 World Chess Championship is barely over and already people are finding ways to argue about it. The most prominent one is the number of 'Official Champions' although a few silly arguments have also popped up.

The cause of the argument about who is an 'Official" champion started with the claim the Gukesh is the youngest World Champion in history. A number of people pointed out that Ruslan Ponomariov won the 2002 FIDE World Championship at a slightly younger age, meaning that Gukesh was not actually the youngest. This of course then devolved into a debate whether these events could be considered proper World Championships.

Normally it would be assumed that FIDE itself would have the final say in this, but it appears this is not the case. While they recognise their own version of the World Championship, they also seem to omit the winners of these events (Khalifman, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov and Topolov) in their numbering of world champions. This does make sense if the criteria is "Undisputed or lineal" World Champions, although at the time of the split between Championships, FIDE certainly never made that argument.

BTW if you think that finding the answer at place like Wikipedia might help, I would suggest you wait a few weeks. There seems to be an edit war going on on the World Championship page, which as a result has restrictions on who can actually now edit the page.

Do you deface chess books?

 When I trawl through pile of 2nd hand chess books, I often see that previous owners have underlines certain moves or written notes in the margins (I have found a forced win for White in the starting position, but this margin is too small to write he proof ...). 

At first this horrified me, but now I am starting to see that this is sometimes acceptable. I am working through some coaching books, and to get full value, I often think I should highlight unsuggested alternatives, or record analysis for later checking. While this would obviously reduce the quality of the book, it would probably improve my understanding of the text.

However, there is one problem. When I tried to do this, my hand refused to put pencil to paper! So for now my books remain unsullied, at least until I can overcome the psychological road block that stands in front of me.

2024 World Chess Championship - Tales of the unexpected

 In a match full of twists and turns, the 2024 World Chess Championship ended in the most unexpected way. Game 14 was the final game played at long time controls, and with the match tied 6.5-6.5, a win for either player would secure the title, and avoid a playoff at faster time controls. 

For almost the entire game the evaluation remained fairly equal, even after Ding chose to go into an ending a pawn down. Being a pawn up, Gukesh saw no risk in playing on, but by this stage most of the online chatter had turned to finding out what time the playoff games started after this game had finished. 

But on move 55, Ding offered a trade of rooks, which Gukesh gratefully accepted. Due to the poor placement of Ding's bishop (on a8), Gukesh could immediately trade off into a winning king and pawn ending. When I saw the position I first assumed that either (a) the game was over and extra moves were being analysed or (b) Ding had a stalemate/fortress trick that the engines did not understand. Neither assumption was correct, and the sad truth was that Ding had just played one of the most consequential blunders in World Championship history.

The final position was winning for Black, although there is only one path to victory (the f pawn has to be sacrificed at the right moment). Ding decided not to test Gukesh's elementary endgame knowledge, resigning instead.

So Gukesh becomes the youngest World Champion in history, beating Kasparov's record. It caps a remarkable run for Gukesh, winning both the Candidates tournament and the World Championship at his first attempts. 

For Ding, this loss must be a heartbreaker, and where he goes with his chess from here remains to be seen. Possibly the burden of being a World Champion has been holding him back, and in the long term, losing the match may be a net benefit.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A08]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (14), 12.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - A tougher game than expected

 Game 13 of the 2024 World Chess Championship turned out to be tougher than many predicted. With decisive results in the previous 2 games, I for one expected that both players would try not to take too many risks so close to the end of the match, Instead another sharp game was served up, and again Ding found himself scrambling to defend a worse position.

Gukesh tried another line against the French, and this time emerged with a small opening advantage. It was Ding's turn to play the position defensively, which Gukesh tried to exploit. However, at crucial moments both players found '2nd best' moves, which changed the evaluation of the position. Probably the most consequential choice was around move 30, where Ding;s best move was to give up the Queen for 2 rooks and hold the draw, Instead he kept the queen, which gave Gukesh a chance to increase his control of the central files. But he failed to choose the best line, and despite some small tactical threats, a fairly equal ending was reached soon after move 40. But equal does no mean drawn, and Gukesh pushed for another 20 odd moves before a draw was agreed to.

The last round is tonight (not tomorrow as I suggested the other day). Having got all my predictions for the match wrong so far, I simply suggest juts tuning in to watch it from 8pm Canberra time.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C11]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (13), 11.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Boy, that escalated quickly

 It seems like all my predictions for this match have been well off the mark. While I was at the match (for games 7,8,9) I predicted that I would see at least one decisive game, which I did not. And having seen yesterdays game (and game ending blunder) I was sure Gukesh was ready to steamroll Ding. He did not.

Instead, Ding recovered from yesterdays disaster with a comprehensive win in Game 12. As White, Ding held a slight edge throughout the opening (basically more space), but around move 16 Gukesh started to make some poor choices. This allowed Ding to target weak points in Gukesh's position and get in the important d4 push in. After that it seemed like Gukesh didn't have a plan to defend the position, and Ding just built up a dominating position. By the end it was so overwhelming that he could afford to miss the strongest computer choices (26.Na7) and still cruise to victory.

So an amazing comeback for Ding, with the match now tied at 6-6. Another rest day today (and one after game 13), so at least Gukesh will have time to recover.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A13]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (12), 09.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Checks and captures

 There is a famous story concerning Boris Spassky (which I have previously posted). about blunders coming in pairs. In Game 11 of the World Chess Championship showed this to be true.

Gukesh chose an opening that lead to an unbalanced position (a reverse Blumenfeld), but the main effect was that both players used up a lot of time in the opening. White pushed his b pawn all the way to b6, which was probably a sacrifice intended to open the b file for White's rooks. As both players began to run short of time, Gukesh found a knight manoeuvrer, involving Nb1-a3-c2-a1-b3-c5, the last move which was in response to a poor move by Ding ( 26 ... e6). He could have won back his pawn with a little tactic (28.Nxb7) but chose to swing his rook to the b file. Ding could have closed of the file with 28 ... Nb4, but to paraphrase Spassky, a small mistake is often followed by a bigger one.  

Failing to follow the advice of 'look at all checks and captures', Ding hurriedly played 28 ... Qc8?? and resigned after 29.Qxc6 was played. 

A real tragedy for Ding,  and a real boost for Gukesh. Not only does he hold a 1 point lead with 3 games left to play, the effect of such a blunder on Ding may destroy his confidence for the rest of the match.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [A09]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (11), 08.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - A familiar refrain

 One of the demands that Bobby Fischer made when World Chess Champion was that future title matches be determined by number of wins, rather than final score. He envisaged a situation where one player took an early lead and then the remaining games were all drawn. This idea was accepted by FIDE, at least up until the first Karpov v Kasparov match. 

In some ways, what Fischer feared happening has been evident for a while now. With shorter matches for the title, the number of 'risk free' draws has significantly increased. Combine this with much better opening preparation, and a lot of games see players hoping for a small edge out of the opening, and if that does not happen, then playing solid chess until a draw can be agreed.

Game 10 of the current match was very much like this. The only imbalance in the position was doubled f pawns for Black, but given the high level of defensive technique these days, there was no hope of a Rubenstein type ending masterclass from Ding, and the game ended in a draw at move 36.

 

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [D02]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (10), 07.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Late Middlegame Blues

 Game 9 of the 2024 World Chess Championship did not reach any great heights. After the excitement of the previous two days, this game saw both players try to avoid any risky positions to create winning chances. The only real point of interest was the tactical interplay around move 20, which saw Gukesh gain a passed pawn on the c file, but Ding always had this under control. The two players clearly understood that there was nothing more in the position, but entertained the spectators by quickly playing out an ending that finished with KvK.

Today is a rest day, which also coincides with me heading home from Singapore. It was an interesting experience being onsite for 3 of the games, as well as watching the concurrent Singapore International Open. My prediction that Ding's winning chances improve the longer he goes without falling behind still stands. Nonetheless I will be surprised if it goes to a playoff, because if it does, then I would tip Gukesh to prevail.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [E11]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (9), 5.12.2024

2024 Singapore International Open - GM norm for Winkelman

 The 2024 Singapore International Open was won by GM Shanglei Lu (China), with 7.5/9.  But the outstanding result (from an Australian point of view) was FM Albert Winkelman finishing tied for 2nd on 7/9. He started the event seeded 91st, and due to the accelerated pairings, faced a GM in round 1. Winning that game, and then drawing his next game with an IM, set him up for a good run through the event. He wrapped up the IM norm (his 2nd) with a round to spare, but a final round win over GM Vahap Sanal (Turkey), moved up up to 7 points. He won his last 4 games, and played a field that included 4 GM's, 2 IM's and an FM. He finished in 6th place on tie-break, taking home what is probably the biggest prize of his chess career.

 

Sanal, Vahap - Winkelman, Albert [D02]
2024 Singapore International Open (9), 5.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Gukesh escapes

 Game 8 of the 2024 World Chess Championship was another exciting affair, with Ding going close to winning, and Gukesh finding the save. The first critical moment came on move 22, when Gukesh, as black, played 22 ... b5. At the press conference after the game, he thought he was almost winning in the position, and Ding seemed to be in a lot of trouble.  Ding quickly decided to give up the a pawn a few moves later, but confessed that had been based in a miscalculation! However he did get a lot of piece play for the pawn, and after he found 28.Qe1! he was back in the game. So much so, that a few moves later he won an exchange for a pawn, and had all the winning chances. In the rush to time control the position was repeated (to save time on the clock), but surprisingly it was Gukesh who varied. The decision by Ding to eliminate one of Gukesh's dangerous queenside pawns seemed sensible, but with accurate play the game ended in a draw.

The score after 8 games is now 4-4. Each draw puts pressure on Gukesh 'to do something', although if the match goes to tie-breaks, youth may be a factor. Certainly Ding is looking a lot more energetic than in recent months (at the board at least), and the fact he has avoided the fate that a lot of pundits predicted (including myself), may give him confidence going into the last 6 games.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A21]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (8), 4.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - What a save

 The 7th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship was probably the most exciting game so far. Both players seemed committed to keeping the game unbalanced, which lead to some exciting play, especially before the first time control.

Around move 20 Ding went to win the white a pawn, at the risk of getting his queen shut off from the rest of the board. This gave Gukesh a chance for a clear advantage, but before he cashed in he repeated the position. This decision caused a groan from the audience in the playing hall, but when Gukesh played 29.Rxb5, the mood was somewhat lightened. When Gukesh played 30.Qf4 it looked as if the game was all over, but then Ding played a number of saving moves with both players short of time, and when move 40  was reached (for White), it seemed another draw was on the board. However move 40 for Black was an error, and within a few moves Gukesh was almost certainly winning. But just as quickly as the win appeared, it disappeared again, with Gukesh failing to find the winning line. Although the position was still difficult to play, Ding found the right moves and a draw was reached on move 72.

A real let off for Ding, and the fact that the match is still tied, is putting more pressure on Gukesh. Having predicted that this game would be drawn (to a few people in the media centre), I think there will be a decisive result in one of the next 2 games. The only problem is I am not sure who will achieve it!

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [D78]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (7), 3.12.2024

A different SIO

 Running alongside the 2024 World Championship match is the 2024 Singapore International Open (SIO). Taking advantage of the interest generated by the WCC, the SIO has attracted over 500 players across both sections. The top section is restricted to players over 1800, and used accelerated pairings to improve the norm chances of the players in the top half.

Today is the 2nd double round day of the tournament, with 6 games being played so far, and the 7th in progress as I type this. Almost 40 Australian players are playing across both events, with at least 3 Canberra players among that group.

One of the players in the lead of the Open is GM Zong Yuan Zhao. He is on 5/6, with 4 wins and 2 draws. In today's morning round he beat 14th seed GM Rinat Jumbayev in a game that swung back and forth. He is now on board 3 against 25th seed IM Jan Klimkowski.

Other Australians close to lead include IM James Morris, FM Albert Winkelman, and CM Ben Leong (all on 4/6). Winkelman is quite close to an IM norm based on his current results, although he has attributed this result to his ability in defending a run of bad positions. If he wins his game today, then he will probably only need 1/2 for a norm from this event.

2024 World Chess Championship - A view from the ground

 I had hoped to be watching game 6 of the 2024 World Championship upon my arrival in Singapore last night (or at least the last few moves). But I was grounded in Melbourne by a delayed connection* and so watched the entire game in the terminal, waiting for a 3:25am departure.

Although the game was drawn (the third in a row), there seemed to be a bit more of a fight in this one. Although the minor pieces went by move 20, there was enough play in the major piece ending to keep the spectators engaged. Ding had a small edge (at least according to various engines), but in a practical sense, it might have not been enough to convert, Nonetheless both players tried a few ideas (eg h4-h5 by Ding), before a draw by repetition occurred.

Today is a rest day (and I am typing this in a deserted Media Centre), with Round 7 tomorrow. Along side the World Championship is the 2024 Singapore Open, with a large number of Australian players taking part. GM Zong Yuan Zhao is one of the tournament leaders, and is being featured on the DGT boards. The games can be found at https://lichess.org/broadcast/singapore-international-open-2024/classical-round-5/rpedgvD7#boards

(*The airline concerned starts with a Q and ends with WDGAF)

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783)[A45]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (6), 1.12.2024